TEMPE, Arizona — He looks back on his first year in the town which didn’t reject him, the team that readily accepted him, and Milton Bradley, quietly reflects.

This was the man the A’s and Billy Beane hoped they get. This was the man Milton Bradley always told us nobody tried to find.

Bradley went 0-for-2 with a walk on Monday when the desert temperature, close to 80, finally warmed to our liking. He was out of the game when Oakland came back to beat the Angels 8-7 at Tempe Diablo Stadium, in the little visitors’ clubhouse with the some of the other starters.

This brief spring training has been a window into Bradley’s talent. Even after a hitless afternoon, he was batting .571, and while exhibition game averages invariably are inflated, the numbers affirm A’s manager Bob Geren’s claim that Bradley “is one of the best players in the game.”

No one ever doubted that, but it was his personality, his temper, his anger, which became the central issue in the tales of Milton Bradley. Whatever the reasons,Bradley went from Montreal to Cleveland to the Dodgers, his hometown team, in five years.

He threw a water bottle. He threw tantrums. Mangement threw up its hands.

There was understandable skepticism when Beane, the A’s general manager, traded for Bradley in December 2005. But Beane reminded Oakland “always had a welcoming clubhouse … he’s a great addition.”

The heart of the order consists of Milton Bradley, Mike Piazza, Eric Chavez and Steve Swisher, who homered on Monday. “The Bash Kids,” said Shannon Stewart, who bats in front of them.

The No.3 man must have speed and power, must be able to get on base and drive in runners. Bradley is very capable.

“I told him he was going to be a star when he played for the Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League in 1998,” said Geren, managing Sarasota at the time. “I had him down as the best prospect in the league … And he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever been around.”

Who truly knows about a kid raised by a mother struggling to make ends meet, a mother robbed at gunpoint when working as a cashier, a kid whose father was only an infrequent visitor?

We are outside their world, but still we feel compelled analyze it anyway, to apply our standards to a society we don’t always understand.

Remember Kevin Mitchell from the Giants, who was nothing but trouble for the Mets and in 1989 won an MVP Award and helped San Francisco win a pennant? Sometimes it works out.

“Oakland’s a blue-collar town,” said Bradley. Although normally a left fielder, he was playing center in the absence of Mark Kotsay.

“They are hard-working people,” Bradley said about East Bay residents. “They understand struggles and dealing with something, going through something.

“You noticed the fans didn’t know how to respond early on, but as the season went on they saw I was having fun, they grew to love me. They started a fan club out there, had signs going.”

Bradley didn’t want to come to Oakland at first. But quickly enough the direction changed.

“He went through some injuries last year,” said Chavez, “but nobody in the locker room was rooting for him more than I was.”

The A’s are the A’s, full of practical jokes and acceptance. Laughter is soothing balm when you’re under pressure for 162 games.

“Our clubhouse is well-documented,” Chavez reminded. “We can embrace Barry Bonds. When they were talking about him last winter, we would have relished the opportunity. It’s a fun clubhouse, and the camaraderie’s good.”

Bradley, who will be 29 next month, once described himself as a “no-nonsense guy.” He goes about his job without a smile but with a purpose. He believes an individual proves himself with performance not predictions.

“Right now, I feel real good,” said Bradley. He went 3-for-3 in the Cactus League opener last week. Nothing like being perfect at the start.

“My hands are where they need to be. Sometimes I get to thinking ‘pull,’ and get too quick on the ball.”

His head is where it needs to be, figuratively, literally.

“I’m a West Coast guy,” Bradley said. “I feel a part of it. I just love to go out there and entertain the people. Let the wins roll.”

He’s a pro with an attitude. The right attitude.

Art Spander has earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He can be reached at typoes@aol.com.

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